Free Web NovelChapter 36: Chapter 36: Revenge Begins. Blood for Blood
"I’m sorry, sir. I-I was just curious," Deep said hurriedly.
Only then did he realize something was wrong.
...
Starlight kept her attention on Benjamin and ignored the clown that was Deep.
The handsome older man was lifting his coffee cup, sipping from it while flipping through the agenda Ashley had handed him, as casual as if he were sitting in his own living room.
The matter between Starlight and Deep had not truly been settled, but as long as Benjamin was sitting in that chair, Deep would not be able to stir up any trouble.
She was absolutely certain of that, because she trusted Soldier Boy.
"Meeting’s started."
Benjamin set down his coffee cup.
"First item: Deep rejoins the team. One-month probation. If he does anything again during probation, he’s out. Any objections?"
"None," Starlight said, calm and decisive.
She had not expected herself to say the word so quickly, but once it was out, she found it was not that hard.
"None," Maeve said.
"None," Homelander said.
Deep looked around, stood up, and bowed to everyone. "Thank you, everyone. I won’t do it again."
Deep looked at Benjamin gratefully, with a hint of eager obedience in his eyes.
...
Benjamin frowned slightly. Seeing that look, he leaned forward.
"Do you want knee pads?"
Deep: "?"
"What, sir?"
"The way you’re looking at me makes it seem like you’re about to kneel down and give me head... so I was asking if you wanted knee pads."
Embarrassment spread across Deep’s face.
Starlight almost burst out laughing from the side.
"I’m sorry, sir... I don’t."
"Then sit the fuck down and stop looking at me with those creepy, disgusting eyes. You really are a stupid fucking fish. Just looking at you pisses me off. Disgusting."
Benjamin cursed him out.
Deep hurriedly sat down and no longer dared look at Soldier Boy with that excited stare.
...
"Second item: Translucent is still missing. Deep, you investigate it."
"Yes, sir," Deep said at once.
He had to prove himself. He absolutely had to find Translucent.
In truth, Translucent’s remains should have appeared long ago, according to the original plot.
But because Deep had been kicked out, the discovery of those remains had been delayed a little.
It did not matter. Sooner or later, they would run into The Boys.
...
"Third item."
Benjamin opened the tablet Ashley had handed him, glanced at the latest data, then turned the screen toward everyone.
"Public opinion from last night has reversed this morning. Homelander’s approval rating has started to recover. From its lowest point, it’s already climbed back four percentage points. Maeve and Deep are the same. Their approval ratings are starting to recover too. Good performance. Keep it up."
Everyone in the conference room looked up.
Homelander stared at the red curve on the tablet as it began climbing upward, his lips moving slightly.
His expression did not change much, but his body straightened involuntarily.
Benjamin put the tablet back on the table and picked up his coffee cup.
Edgar had backed down.
Those negative trending topics had been wiped clean overnight. The major media outlets had started using the same line to "clear Homelander’s name," and even the female reporter who had questioned whether it was "a stunt" had posted a long apology statement.
He had not figured it out from the news reports. He had seen it in the rhythm of the public opinion data curve.
This was not a natural reversal. Someone had flipped a switch. And the hand holding that switch had to be Edgar’s.
"All right, meeting adjourned. Anything else?"
Benjamin swept his gaze around the room.
No one spoke. Homelander was very pleased by the rise in approval rating.
"Then that’s it. If there are any follow-up details, Homelander and Ashley will handle them."
Everyone got up and left one after another.
...
That afternoon, Deep returned alone to Dolphin Bay. freewebnøvel.coɱ
Waves washed up the beach and retreated again, leaving thin streaks of white foam behind.
In the distance, several dolphins floated lazily in the shallows, basking in the sun. One of them recognized him and let out a sharp whistle.
He crouched beside a reef, and then he saw a box.
He lifted the lid. A sickly sweet stench of rot rushed into his nose.
Deep fell backward onto the sand, because inside the box were the dismembered remains of Translucent.
Two hours later, in The Seven conference room.
The zinc alloy box sat in the center of the long table. No one spoke.
Homelander stood directly in front of the box, arms folded across his chest, his blue eyes locked on it.
His expression was not grief. It was fury.
"Zinc alloy."
His voice was pressed low. "I can’t see through it. They specifically chose a material my X-Ray Vision can’t penetrate, put Translucent’s body parts inside it, and left it on a beach Deep often visits. There was a line engraved inside the box: ’This is for you.’"
He raised his hand and tapped the lid with his fingertip.
"It wasn’t written for The Seven. It wasn’t written for Vought. It was written for me. Someone killed one of my men, put his body parts in a box I can’t see through, and made it very clear they were coming for me."
Starlight stood by the window with a hand over her nose.
She had only seen Translucent’s name in her onboarding briefing, so she could not say she had any real feelings for him. But the thought of a person being blown apart and stuffed into a box still sent a chill down her spine.
Maeve stood beside her, looking down at the box in silence.
Homelander turned around, his gaze sweeping over every face in the conference room before stopping on Deep.
"You investigate this. Maeve will go with you."
Deep rubbed his bald head and nodded. Maeve did not hesitate either, answering, "Got it."
Deep felt like he had been incredibly busy lately.
Maybe it was because A-Train and Black Noir were both absent, so he was being worked to death.
He had to deal with pressure from Homelander and Soldier Boy, and complete one mission after another. Deep was mentally exhausted.
He only hoped Maeve would not put pressure on him during the mission too, Deep thought to himself.
Deep and Maeve accepted the order and left the conference room.
Once the door closed, only Homelander, Starlight, Ashley, and Benjamin remained in the room. Benjamin had been sitting in the head seat the entire time without saying a word.
Benjamin stood from the head seat and hung the shield from his left arm.
"You’re getting involved in this?" Homelander turned and asked.
"No. You, Maeve, Deep, and Starlight can handle a small matter like this."
Benjamin walked to the door, then paused.
"I have something else to do. Also, if there’s anyone suitable to join The Seven, Homelander, you can let them in if you think they’re a good fit. No need to ask me. Ashley, don’t make decisions on your own. Follow Homelander’s arrangements in everything. There’s no need to kick A-Train off the team for now. If he gets a healthy heart, he might be able to run at his old peak speed again."
"Yes, sir," Ashley quickly nodded.
Benjamin pushed open the conference room door, his footsteps fading steadily down the hallway.
Benjamin returned to his office, leaned his shield against the desk, and took a manila envelope from the drawer.
Inside was Crimson Countess’s address, which The Legend had given him.
That was right. Benjamin intended to take revenge. Blood for blood. Even if it had happened to the original body, Benjamin still wanted to deal with it to avoid leaving future trouble behind.
There were also the TNT Twins, Tommy and Tessa.
The two of them had to be together to trigger their energy explosion.
Back in the Nicaraguan jungle, the last thing he had seen was the siblings standing side by side in the smoke, their hands clasped together, bright electric light bursting in their palms.
Mindstorm. His greatest ability was not combat, but burrowing into your mind and digging out what you feared most.
Back then, he had used his Psychic Power to briefly suppress Soldier Boy’s consciousness, giving the others a chance to act.
Crimson Countess, the original body’s ex-girlfriend, the woman who betrayed him.
The address The Legend had scribbled on that note. He had not been there yet, but he remembered every word.
And then there was Black Noir. He was already dead.
Homelander had punched straight through his chest. The first name on the blood-debt list had been crossed off permanently.
"It’s time," Benjamin muttered to himself.
